News

2024 Minority Veteran Owned Firm of the Year – Awarded on 10/22/24 by the U.S. Department of Commerce | Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) during National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week in Atlanta, Georgia (October 20 – 26th). This national award recognizes BGI as a leader in minority-owned businesses and acknowledges Zef’s dedication to excellence, job creation, and social responsibility. 

Awards are the highest level of national recognition that a U.S. minority business enterprise can receive from the U.S. Department of Commerce. These prestigious awards celebrate the outstanding achievements of minority business enterprises, as well as the individuals, and organizations that have demonstrated their commitment to advancing minority business enterprises.

Congratulations, Zef! Your dedication inspires your BGI Team every day — your leadership, accomplishments, commitment, and the success of the company are celebrated and reinforces how impactful the work BGI does and the importance of what we do.

L to R: Yvette Uriondo, Sr. Business Consultant, MBDA – Arizona Chapter
Zeferino Banda, Jr., President & CEO, Banda Group International, and
Alika Kumar, Executive Director, MBDA – Arizona Chapter

Zef accepting Award
at 2024 MED Week

2024 Minority Veteran Owned
Firm of the Year Award

Zef and the 2024 Award

Zef and wife, Leslie with the 2024 Award overlooking the City of Atlanta, GA.

2024 Arizona Minority Business Enterprise of the Year – Awarded on 10/17/24 by the Arizona MBDA Business Center, during this year’s 13th Annual Business Diversity Summit. This honor is in recognition of Zef’s outstanding contributions to minority-owned businesses in Arizona. It celebrates his commitment to fostering growth, creating opportunities, and driving innovation. Congratulations to Zef and the whole BGI Team!

The Arizona 13th Annual Diversity Summit Is sponsored by the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The Arizona chapter of the MBDA, NABEDC, and the Capital Readiness Program. The summit is produced by local STN, Social Television Network. This annual summit highlights award recipient’s contributions and the extraordinary impact they have on Arizona’s economy and minority communities.

View the summit in its entirety on YouTube. #BizDiversity

L to R: Yvette Uriondo, Sr. Business Consultant, MBDA
Zef Banda, Jr., President & CEO, BGI, and
Alika Kumar, Executive Director, MBDA – Arizona Chapter

Zef & BGI highlighted during the 13th Annual Summit

Zef accepts award with 2024 Arizona Recipients

Arizona MBDA 2024 Award Announcements

BGI proudly wishes to announce that on September 13, 2024, our COO, Vickie Maranville, and President/CEO, Zef Banda, received the prestigious Patriot Award from the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). This honor was made even more special because our very own Corporate Coordinator, Cocoli Sekabera, nominated them.

The Patriot Award recognizes supervisors and leaders who provide extraordinary support to National Guard or Reserve employees. It reflects the meaningful steps taken to support these citizen warriors, such as offering flexible schedules, time off before and after deployment, and caring for their families during absences.

We are incredibly proud of Vickie and Zef for their ongoing leadership and unwavering commitment to supporting our military team members. Their dedication to the well-being of our employees, both at home and in service to our country, exemplifies the core values that distinguish Banda Group. They set an excellent example for all our managers and corporate staff, who also play a vital role in supporting our military team members.

Please join us in congratulating Vickie and Zef for this well-deserved honor! 

Cocili Sekabera, Zef Banda, III, Vickie Maranville and ESGR Representative

Banda Group International, LLC (BGI) is excited to announce the recent award of an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract by the Department of Energy’s Office of Environmental Management (DOE EM). The Banda Team is primarily composed of small businesses, including six industry leading small businesses. This ten-year ordering contract will use Task Order (TO) awards to small businesses. This award is a nation-wide contract to small businesses to conduct Deactivation, Decommissioning, and Removal (DD&R) services and encompasses a broad range of services, including DD&R of facilities, waste management services, and program support services.

Under this $2 billion contract, BGI and its teaming partners will provide a wide range of services such as facility DD&R, waste management, and program support services. This award is a testament to BGI’s ability to deliver high-quality, reliable services on a national scale.

BGI has assembled an exceptional team of partners to help fulfill the DOE EM cleanup mission objectives. BGI is committed to the DOE’s mission and looks forward to leveraging this opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and contribute meaningfully to the nation’s environmental remediation goals.

Banda Group International is proud to announce its continued support for Newport News Nuclear BWXT – Los Alamos (N3B) environmental remediation work at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). BGI was recently awarded two new contracts by N3B. One to conduct sampling and chemical characterization to determine waste types in order to support planning for a building demolition, and another to complete site characterization, environmental remediation, waste management, and investigation reporting at numerous solid waste management units (SWMUs) and areas of concern (AOCs) located on site. Teams will work to safely identify and remediate these legacy waste sites and support the mission at LANL.

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The BGI team recently attended the Department of Energy’s 2023 Small Business Forum & Expo hosted in New Orleans, Louisiana. Banda Group International would like to thank all of those who visited the exhibit booth and shared connections with the team. This conference was a great event for BGI to connect with the DOE’s program offices and highlight small business support for the agency. If you did not have an opportunity to connect with us in New Orleans, the team will be attending the Society of American Military Engineer’s (SAME’s) 2023 Federal Small Business Conference in San Antonio, Texas, November 1-3. Another great opportunity to meet, network, and discuss our capabilities.

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Banda Security LLC is thrilled to announce the acquisition of two new contracts providing security services to clients in the Phoenix area. The Banda Security team is performing comprehensive 24-hour site security for a large commercial property hosting more than 500 local businesses. Security teams ensure round-the-clock protection through constant foot and mobile patrols and promptly respond to service calls, enforce property safety standards, and implement proactive measures to prevent vandalism and theft. Additionally, Banda Security teams are now deployed at a local gated residential community where they assume responsibility for the guard house operations. Their duties include managing ingress and egress points, controlling access to the property, and ensuring the safety and well-being of residents and visitors. Banda Security officers prioritize the safety and security of the properties they serve, offering peace of mind to clients, and act as ambassadors for the properties that we protect.

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BGI attended the Waste Management Symposia (#WM2023) hosted in Phoenix, AZ from February 26^th until March 2^nd. Our team was joined by more than 2,000 industry professionals from across the world to discuss and share ideas at this conference. Symposia topics including new technologies; radioactive and hazardous waste characterization; waste treatment, storage, packaging, transportation, and disposal; engineering design and construction; decontamination, decommissioning, and environmental remediation; as well as emerging topics. The BGI team was pleased to make connections with a diverse group of professionals and would like to thank everyone who visited our booth. 

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BGI has been awarded a contingent labor services (CLS) contract to operate as a Managed Service Provider for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL). Under this contract, BGI will provide workforce management solutions to supply skilled professionals and subject matter experts (SMEs) to fill critical positions at the LANL. BGI will oversee the entire process of selecting workers, streamlining and optimizing hiring, handling contracts, managing personnel, and providing employment benefits.  

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The BGI-GCON joint venture (JV) team will be working to complete two new projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in 2023 for Triad National Security, LLC (Triad) under the multiple award task order contract (MATOC). The first project will be the demolition, removal, and remediation of a decommissioned diesel tank including the removal of associated piping and infrastructure. The second projects consists of soil sampling, characterization, and proper waste disposal. Our team will also simultaneously work to install a safety-class diesel generator pad servicing multiple buildings. This work will include utility locates, excavation, relocation of water lines, engineered fill, concrete pouring, placement of rebar and pad penetrations, duct bank to connection points, bollards, paving, and other general construction requirements. 

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BGI announces the addition of several new team members to support company growth and fill key positions. BGI would like to welcome Saul Alanis serving as our new Western Region Operations Manager, George Taylor as the new Director of the Eastern Region, Karol-Lynn Reed as BGI’s new Director of Marketing and Business Development, and Joe Sena serving as BGI’s Director of Government Operations. 

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BGI has been awarded a $20M Master Service Agreement (MSA) by Newport News Nuclear BWXT – Los Alamos (N3B) to support N3B’s Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract. N3B implements the Los Alamos Legacy Cleanup Contract at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) for the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Environmental Management. BGI will provide N3B with environmental remediation support to meet cleanup milestones and deliverables at LANL. BGI has an established presence in Los Alamos and has a proven track record supporting N3B. 

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BGI announces the addition of a Corporate Strategy team to its organization to assist the company’s fast growth phase. BGI achieved significant growth in employee headcount in 2022, and to ensure world class service and quality for our clients, we have added two key positions to lead strategic growth and quality. Joining BGI is Brett Howey, PE, as Vice President of Corporate Strategy and James Lockhart, PE as BGI’s Director of Quality.  

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BGI – GCON Joint Venture (BGI-GCON) is a small business enterprise founded in 2013, comprised of Banda Group International, LLC (BGI) and GCON, Inc. (GCON). BGI – GCON offers comprehensive construction management, inspection, and environmental, health and safety (EH&S) services designed to support projects ranging from renovations to design-bid-build new construction. We have proven experience with various project delivery methods, preconstruction services, all stages of design, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) systems, and project planning / execution. Matching our client’s goals, BGI – GCON delivers project safety, in a quality manner, on schedule and within budget. 

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On April 14th, 2021, BGI was issued a limited notice to proceed to support the construction of a semiconductor manufacturing campus northwest of Phoenix, AZ. BGI was granted notice to proceed on Wednesday, April 14th and mobilized to the site within three working days. BGI has on-site employees providing a broad range of services including facilities management, logistics support, and site safety. 

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BGI and Bristol Environmental Remediation Services, LLC (BERS) have formed a joint venture, BGI-BERS JV, LLC. BGI and BERS have joined forces to capitalize on BGI’s U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) experience and BERS’ U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) experience. BGI anticipates a great level of success on the opportunities BGI-BERS JV is pursuing. 

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